Firearm



Oct. 12, 1943. s Y 2,331,400

FIREARM Filed Jan. 10, 1941 INVENTOR Z ZZJaJ' I fieZs'eg AGENT Patented Get. 12, 1943 FIREARM Elias I. Kelsey, Milford, Corin.,assignor h me ington Arms Company, Ine., a corporationpof Delaware Application January 10, 1941, snag ing 2 Claims. .(Cl. as 47 This invention relates to gun barrels and par- 1 ticularl'y to a sighting rib for a shotgun barrel.

,An important object of this invention is to provide an improved sighting rib'for gun barrels.

A further object is to provide a ventilated rib having one or more projections on its lower face and'having a metal or plastic reinforcing piece.

A still further object is to providean improved method of securing a reinforced ventilated sighting rib to a gun barrel by projection welding.

There are at present two general methods of providing sighting ribs on gun barrels. These are namely: either by forming the rib'as an integral part of the gun barrel during the construction of the latter, or by brazing or soldering the rib to the barrel. While the former method has the advantages of providinga ribwhich can not be knocked or stripped off nor be twisted out of true, yet this method requires that the barrel be turned ofi center and then machined downso as to leave the upstanding rib". 'It is obvious that these steps are relatively expensive both from the point ofview of time required and the material wasted in the machining process. The second method is likewise susceptible of improvement in'asmuch'as the union formed betweenthe rib and the barrel by a brazing or soldering process is essentially a weak union and may be readily broken by an accidental blow or frequent jarring. Furthermore, the present methods of soldering, brazing or welding. quite frequently effect burrs or disfigurement at the meeting edges of the component parts and often burn the metal or draw the temper so that parts are soft and easily bent and distorted. These disadvantages more thanoffset the advantages in forming the rib and barrel of separate pieces.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 shows a profile of a gun having a ventilated sighting rib.

Fig. 2 shows an enlarged view of a sighting rib welded to a gun barrel.

Fig. 3 shows a cross section of the rib on line 3--3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 shows a cross section of 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawing, the construction of the sighting rib is shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. In these drawings I 6 represents the rifle barrel to which the sighting rib l I issuitably secured; The latter comprises a relatively narrow strip of metal the rib on line sighting shaped in cross section substantially as an inverted truncated isosceles triangle and having a channel or groove formed in its bottom face throughout its that as indicated at l2 in'Fig. 3. The loweriface of the rib, so formed, is adapted to be provided with one or more lateral cut-outs 43 as shown inxFig. 2, which not only; effect a" means 'forfventilating the rib but also form a plurality of legs or projections l4, adapted to con- 'tact therifle barrel at spaced points. Inasmuch as these projections represent but a small portion of the'area of the entire Sighting rib and for the purpose of clarifying the discussion hereinafter asto-the principles of projection welding, these legs or projectionswillbeireferredtoas projc tions'or legs of restricted area. While'the'description of the rib lL its groove l2, and cut outs "l3 has been limited to the figures shown in the drawings, it' will be understood that modificationsmay.beeifected-Within the scope of thisinvention. I 1 l5 represents a longitudinal groove milled or otherwise formed in the channel portion l2-of the rib and adapted to receive the longitudinaledge l I! of a reinforcing piece i5. ."The'primary purpose of the strip i6 is to act as a reinforcing rib between the barreland the ventilated sighting rib to giver-strength and rigidity to -the latter. In

addition it may serveto keep dust and dirt out of the 'groo vedjriband may add, in a measure, to the decorative I appeal. of the finished gun, particularly if formed of a colorful plastic. The opposite edge |8 of the piece [6, shownin cross section in Figs. 3 and 4, may be tapered so as to effect line contact on the surface of the barrel l 0.5 The reinforcing piece l6 may be constructed of a suitablemetal but in its preferred form a suitable plastic such as methyl methacrylate is used,

- molded or formed in some suitable shape and either translucent or colored for decorative purposes. It willbe understood, however, that the invention is not limited ,to the use of'methyl methacrylate but contemplates the use of such I plastics as phenol-formaldehyde, cellulose ace:

tate and other of the thermo-plastic and thermosetting resins. The reinforcing strip I6 is suitably secured within the groove l5 of the sighting rib by meansof a compatible adhesive, a solder or simply by a tight machine fit, the method employed being determined by the kinds of materials used. The rib, including its reinforcing strip, is properly oriented on the upper side of the gun barrel and secured thereon by a process of projection welding.

In carrying out the welding operation, the legs or projections M; are temporarily held in proper position on the gun barrelias by suitable pressure applying means; thereafter a-pair of suitable electrodes are placed one in electrical tions 14 of restricted area localize the flow of heating electric current and as a result a high electrical resistance is setup at each area, the effect of which is to develop a Welding temperature at each projection in a relatively short time. The adaptation of this characteristic or projection welding to the art of gun manufacture and in particular to a method of securing the sighting rib to the barrel is a-practical solution of an inexpensive method of assembling such component parts Without the hazards of disfiguring, burring and warping the barrel or ribdue to maintaining prolonged high temperatures over relatively large contacting areas. In accordance with the present invention'the projections M on the sighting rib H are heated sufficiently and suitable pressure applied to produce a Weld of the adjoining and contacting portions thereof yet the barrel I is not subjected, during the relatively short heating period, to such degree of heat as is likely to draw the temper of the barrel or soften or anneal it so that the same would be likely to easily be. bent or distorted from its normal alignment. It may fairly be said, therefore, that the invention represents an improved method of securing a sighting rib to a barrel characterized by an unexpected result in that in ordinary soldering, brazing or welding processes the adjacent parts to theweld are usually heated to temper and finish destroying temperatures whereas in the present case.

the improved method of welding leaves the barrel of the gun comparatively cool in the vicinity of the weld whereby its temper and finish are This method of Welding is thus" characterized by the principle-that the projec-- not destroyed. Furthermore, the idea of using projections of restricted area permits the use,

. in any well-known manner, of large flat-surfaced electrodes, avoiding the possibility of marring the surfaces of the sight or barrel during welding which may be occasioned by the use of pointed electrodes or soldering or brazing tools.

To recapitulate, the present invention introduces a new and practical method of securing 10 an improved sighting rib to a gun barrel. The

sighting rib is formed with one or more projections of restricted area on its lower face which ofiergreat resistance to the flow of electricity and hence develop welding heats over the restricted areas in a relatively short period and at a minimum current output. These high welding heats are distributed at spaced points i of the rib and barrel and hence the parts, as a Whole, are not subjected to such degree of heat as would be likely to cause warping or destruction of their normal alignment and finish. when subjected to suitable welding pressures; Irraddition the improved rib is further characterized by a reinforcing piece made of metal or suitable plastic which not only protects the accuracy of the sighting rib against accidental knocks, vibratioris, etc. but in addition permits the shockproof rib to be ventilated without lossof its strength or rigidity. It will beappreciated also that if a plastic reinforcing piece is used its color and pattern-may be variedto add-considerable decorative value to the gun;

What is claimed is: H r i 1. A sighting rib for gun barrels comprising a strip of metalhaving an upper sighting surface and provided on its lower surface with spaced projections of restricted area adapted to form Welding contacts for uniting the rib to thebarrel, and having a reinforcing insert between said projections.

2. A sighting rib forgun barrels comprising a strip of metal having an upper sighting surface, provided on its lower surface with a plurality of projections of restricted area adapted to form 4.5.projection welding contacts for uniting the rib to the barrel and having a plastic reinforcing insert between said projections.

ELIAS I. KELSEY; 

